You've seen and heard the candidates running for office around you, but what do you really know? Where can you get a straight-down-the-middle assessment of where everybody stands? These are the sites you can turn to before you cast your vote.

Starting Point: Where Do You Vote?

This one's pretty simple—as simple as elections can be, at least. If you're not registered to vote in your county, you won't be able to vote on November 2. To get ahead for the next primary or election, register with your local county board of elections through a quick Google search, or use Rock the Vote's state-by-state listing of election offices.

To find out where you need to get to for your vote to count, simply enter "vote" into Google, and you'll be prompted to enter your address and get your polling place. If you're out and about, text WHERE to 30644 to get your location. More details on finding your polling place via Google and SMS are included at our original post.

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Meet the Candidates

Maybe you know who's running for the governor's seat, or one of your local House or Senate seats—there are certainly a lot of ads and stories flying around. But what about the local judicial races? State senate seats? Do you have any clue who to favor in the state comptroller race?

Not that we blame you—we're all busy. To get a read on who's running under what banners, head to SmartVoter first. The site, run by the non-partisan League of Women Voters, provides randomized lists of the candidates in each race you'll encounter come Tuesday. If a candidate responded to the League's questionnaires and provided additional information, you'll see it, but that's not always the case. Still, it's a good starting point, especially in the lesser-known races.

Get a Sample Ballot for Your District

While many sites can provide a list of races, candidates, and party affiliations and endorsements, the actual ballot you'll encounter at your polling place might look entirely unfamiliar. Your best bet is to look up your county's Board of Elections site and download a sample ballot for your district. You'll get a row-by-row-, exact wording copy of what you'll see once you're done waiting in line.

See Their Stances on Issues

Guns, immigration, taxes, healthcare—they're all very complex and nuanced issues. Still, you can't get every candidate to write you a personal response essay for every issue you're interested in, so tools like Project Vote Smart's VoteEasy are still the sifters of basic information. Enter your location, and check off issues on which you've got pretty defined stances. The candidates that most align with your positions will pop up from a virtual lawn, and you can then click and learn more about just what they've said on the matter.

Learn About Your Ballot Initiatives, Referendums, and Whatnot

You thought you knew who to vote for, and why, then you're suddenly jumped with public measures that are strangely worded and completely unfamiliar. Not if you're prepared, though.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has a very helpful ballot initiatives database you can drill down through. You not only get an explanatory wording of what each ballot measure is, but a history of similar items that have gone up or down in voting before.

Follow the Money

Want to know how much money the folks you're voting for are taking in, and from whom? Curious as to how your neighbors are giving out political donations? OpenSecrets.org is your all-in-one database. You can search out the people you're considering, or "Get Local" and drill down into who in your ZIP code is a top donor, to whom, and how much the Joneses are giving out.

Watch the Horse Race

Every TV, print, and web outlet wants you to stay tuned during election night to get "the latest" on all the races. Where can you just get the numbers, and maybe some explanation on them?